Poker Face: Are you putting your cards on the table?

You hear that? Exactly, you don’t hear it because I am referring to the people who no longer live their lives on Twitter. There is no lack of activity on Twitter, but there is a shift in the way that many users communicate.

Those who were completely open with just about everything and who urged us to embrace authenticity have retreated and rely on private direct messages (DM’s) for most of their peer to peer communication.

Isn’t it natural? When no one is paying attention, it’s easy to be yourself. As soon as people begin to pay attention, one envisions an audience of real names and faces. I remember learning to do a back flip into the pool as a kid. It was easy until others watched, and then I smacked my head. I could not regain the confidence, and the effortless back flip is no longer in my bag of tricks.

As Twitter goes mainstream, and as I accumulate followers, relatives, old friends, coworkers and clients are paying attention to what I say on Twitter. Yes, I feel uncomfortable when I imagine my high school gym teacher following my Twitterstream, but I am fighting the urge to change my behavior – I don’t want stage fright to alter my public communication. I am sensitive to who prefers offline communication over the almighty blast, and I respect that each of us has our own comfort level, but I fear that the community that I adore is becoming less open in the face of the public eye.

I don’t humor myself: no one listens to everything I say, but the fact is that more people are listening to what I say than six months ago. I am not giving up, but I must say, it’s getting a bit lonely.

Suddenly I wonder if I am the only one playing with an open hand…Are you putting your cards on the table or is that your poker face?